I’m seriously considering UPitt as one of my top choices, major in Finance. What kind of stats / profile does an applicant (expat / OOS) need to have in order to get a full ride scholarship here? I understand the caliber of this school and the pool of applicants but what really are the numbers saying? Are the merit scholarships given as a result of holistic view of the app or just stats? Also, how generous is UPitt in need based grant for expat/OOS (EFC 0)?
If their grants aren’t guaranteed, they likely consider more than just stats. There are so many high stats kids that colleges can’t afford to give large grants to all of them. Is Pitt a FAFSA only school or do they require the CSS? I think, as a general rule, CSS schools will be more generous, but you may not qualify for much aid because of your dad’s income. If you need a full ride, I think you’re going to have to go down the rankings a bit.
Pitt (as of today) is FAFSA only.
How much aid do they offer? FAFSA only schools don’t usually have a lot of money to offer. Since you need a full ride, read their financial aid pages carefully before spending money to apply there.
They offered $9k in need grant for OOS (using NPC estimate) leaving a $26k. Came across several posters with 1500+ SATs and etc. who received $25k merit aid and some of them got the full ride Chancellors scholarship. So wanted to know what exactly made them get that money.
Son received $10,000 merit scholarship per year, must maintain 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
SAT 1480, ACT 33
The Chancellors winners are very few. They are super great competitive applicants. I would say a 1500 is low for a Chancellors candidate if they would be chosen at all to apply. Chancellors kids are high stat, highly involved, cream of the crop, super impressive type of kids that can go to HPY. They nominate you for Chancellor’s. Then you complete an application and hope that you get an interview. Someone who knows more about the process can chime in, @carachel2 @AmyBeth68
OOS kids with high stats (34 ACT) often get $10,000 or $15,000 merit per year. I really don’t recall an OOS kid receiving $25,000 per year this admissions cycle. That does not mean someone didn’t get it, but I am not recalling that at all. If would be rare.
My girl is in-state and received $10,000 per year, and that is very very generous being in-state. She has a 1500 and 3.9 uw, 5.1 w gpa. She was interviewed for the Stamps and Nordenberg, but did not move on to the 2nd round. She did get a spot in the Physician Assistant GAP program which is another competitive process.
If you are high stat @GuessME5 , go for it. Answer all optional short answer questions thoughtfully. A degree of this process will be out of your control, as admissions will invite you to apply for GAP or Chancellor’s. After that, if selected, again submit a very thoughtful application. It’ll be out of your hands again.
Best of luck. Some of the other posters on the Pitt threads will be able to give you more info.
First to be considered for any merit award, you must be given Honors College - generally stats are 1490 SAT, top 5% of class. From that, nominations for Chancellor’s Scholarship are selected - based on more holistic review of application, ECs, essays. There are essays to complete in a short turnaround timeframe (as I recall you had 3 wks). Out of those, they chose people to interview and from that pool about 10 Chancellor’s scholars are chosen. My two daughters were both nominated to apply for Chancellor’s but were not moved to the interview round. One daughter had full tuition scholarship for an 35 ACT. Other daughter received $15K merit from UHC and $4K from engineering with 1510 SAT. We are OOS.
In addition there are a handful of other full ride scholarships with different selection criteria - Helen Faison for URM applicants is one.
GAP (guaranteed admission program for grad schools) have many flavors - some are more competitive with a process and others like engineering are simply “if you have a 3.5 qpa or better at the end of your undergrad, you will be admitted to our grad school”.
@amandakayak, if nominated, does the applicant need to be in person for the interview or can interview over Skype? I’m an expat so it’d be impossible to just fly down to Pitt for an interview.
I am not sure how they would handle that. Maybe someone has experience that can chime in but - if you are one of the few that are nominated next yr and one of the select of that group invited to interview for what is about a $200k gift I think maybe you would find it possible to fly down from wherever you are? But I would think they would work with you on how you interview. It is more than a single interview I think.
Wouldn’t it’s be easier to post YOUR stats and see if folks think they are competitive for the various college scholarships you seem to want at various colleges?
I will say…the full ride scholarships at all colleges are competitive, and few in number.
What @Winky1 said.
My kid will be a junior this fall at Pitt. He’s a Chancellors scholar from OOS.
He applied early (pay attention to those short answer questions!) and received a full tuition offer shortly after his acceptance. Was later invited to apply and then interview for a Chancellors scholarship.
I thought the interview process changed a bit this round? Not sure Skype was an option.
@amandakayak : low income students who live abroad may be able to afford one round trip ticket a year that’s it. Some can’t go home for 4 years. Op would buy a ticket for his orientation that’s it. There why some families host international kids over the holiday, to ensure they’re not alone (you can reach out to your local university’s international office if you want to volunteer. Some churches/temples/mosques also offer this outreach program. I always participate because I cannot imagine my kids being away AND alone for the holidays.)
@GuessME5 : as close to 1600 as you can on the sat, or 35-36 in the act. Pitt then factors in your achievements. Temple may be easier for merit.
@MYOS1634, I scored a 1600 on the new SAT in first attempt last year. GPA, too will be perfect as I’ll be scoring closing to 98% this year final exams. I also took the SAT Math 2 and scored 800.
Then it’s worth trying at both Pitt and temple. Also look at UAlabama they have excellent offers for perfect scorers.
@guessme5 fantastic scores - just know for full ride Chancellor’s typically there will be some strong ECs but those scores should get good merit on scores alone - from $10-full tuition is my guess. Each year the stats for awards creeps higher so it’s really just a guess.
@GuessME5, you are VERY likely to get full tuition and nomination for Chancellor scholarship, which is hard to be predictable for the final result, if you apply for Pitt early. GL!
@MYOS1634 my understanding is Chancellor’s provides rt flight no?
Probably a good idea to contact the admission’s representative for your area to ask about the specifics regarding the scholarships and your particular situation.
Your scores will likely get you anywhere from 10-15k per year to full tuition. Chancellors is very hard to pin down. Your scores will get you in the door but lots of high stat students apparently write very run of the mill essays OR don’t take those Pitt short question essays seriously. As advised above, you should be thoughtful with your responses.
The magic formula seems to be a self-engaged learner who has really explored their passion in depth and can somehow communicate that in their short answer questions.
Your SAT II scores won’t matter. Best of luck!